Sun, Ranbaxy complete $4-bn merger
24 Mar 2015
Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Tuesday gave its approval for transfer of overseas investments held by Ranbaxy in its joint venture and wholly-owned subsidiaries to Sun Pharma, facilitating the proposed merger of Ranbaxy with Sun Pharma through a scheme of arrangement.
The central bank also approved issue of equity shares of Sun Pharma to the non-resident holders of equity shares of Ranbaxy Laboratories, the company said in a filing with the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE).
With this, Sun Pharma said, all the requisite approvals have been received for the merger of Ranbaxy into Sun Pharma effective from the appointed date of 1 April 2014.
The approvals come almost a year after the $4-billion deal was first announced.
Further, Sun Pharma said the two companies have filed all the approvals received from the respective High Courts with the respective Registrar of Companies.
''With these filings, the merger of Ranbaxy into Sun Pharma has been consummated,'' the company said.
Sun Pharma and Ranbaxy have already received the competition commission's approval for the sale of seven brands to Emcure Pharma to comply with the fair trade watchdog's conditional nod for their merger.
CCI had, in December, directed Sun Pharma to divest all products containing 'Tamsulosin + Tolterodine' which are marketed and supplied under the Tamlet brand name.
The regulator had ordered divestment of these seven products under its 'conditional' approval to the deal as it found the merger between Sun Pharmaceutical Industries and Ranbaxy Laboratories was 'prima facie' in violation of competition laws.
It had also directed Ranbaxy to divest all products containing Leuprorelin, which are marketed and supplied under the Eligard brand name. The company has also been asked to divest products such as Terlibax, Rosuvas EZ, Olanex F, Raciper L and Triolvance.
Sun Pharma had, in April 2014, announced it would acquire troubled rival Ranbaxy in an all-stock deal worth $4 billion, which includes $800 million in debt (See: Sun Pharma, Ranbaxy to merge in Rs24,000 all-stock deal).
The merger would create India's largest and the world's fifth largest drugmaker.
